I'm the CEO of TiqIQ.com, which is the leading ticket search engine online. I started my professional career as a writer covering New York technology in 1996. I've been fascinated by the ticket market from a young age and remember trying to understand what drove the market in front of Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden. After working in eCommerce for much of my career, I decided to start a company dedicated to tracking those prices with the benefit of technology and helping consumers get the best possible deals.

With Similar Records, Giants & A's Ticket Prices, Attendance Couldn't Be More Different

The Bay Area has seen a lot of success across all major sports in recent seasons, and nowhere is that more evident than in baseball. The Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants have the two highest win totals in baseball this year with 30 and 29 respectively, and those figures lead their respective leagues. Most interesting is the teams have been constructed in similar fashion.

Both teams have built their rosters around strong pitching. The two teams rank in the top half of the league in almost every pitching category, with both strong starting rotations and bullpens. The A’s have the second best team ERA, while the Giants are fourth. Oakland has been one of the best offenses as well, ranking second in the league in runs scored, seventh in home runs, and lead the league in walks. San Francisco, despite the third best home run total, are only 11th in the league in runs scored.

Still, even with those similarities in team construction and market size, the live game experience for the A’s and Giants isn’t very similar, and for evidence of this you need to look no further than secondary ticket market. According to TiqIQ, A’s tickets on the secondary market have an average price of $81.93 for the 2014 season. In San Francisco, the Giants have one of the highest secondary market averages in the league at $106.08, 29.5% above the price in Oakland. The ticket difference can be seen in the total attendance as well. Oakland ranks 12th in total attendance, while the Giants rank 2nd in the National League. Up to Thursday afternoon, there have been 22 home games on both the Giants and Athletics schedule. The difference between the two teams in attendance, 499,678 is more than the A’s have drawn so far this season, 419,814.

Part of the reason for the discrepancy is the park the two teams play in. The Giants have their home games at AT&T Park, a field that’s only been opened since 2000. With it’s beautiful design, and proximity to San Francisco Bay, it is widely regarded as one of the nicest parks in baseball. It also has luxury accommodations to bring in extra revenue. All things that make fans flock there during the San Francisco Giants schedule.

The A’s play their home games in the relatively ancient O.co Coliseum. Not only is it one of the worst kept stadiums in the league, the A’s are the only team left to share a field with an NFL franchise after the Miami Marlins moved to Marlins Park. Complaints have ranged from too much foul territory, to sewage issues that’s has lead to leakage all across the stadium.

It’s a reality that extends to the team’s payrolls. San Francisco is able to use the additional revenue to pay large contracts to players, while Oakland is left to keep identifying market iniefficiencies to take advantage of their budget. The Giants are seventh in the league with a payroll around $155 million, the A’s are near the bottom at just above $83 million.

Over the last few seasons the A’s have actually been more consistent than the Giants on a year-to-year basis. While the Giants missed the postseason altogether with the Dodgers winning the NL West, the A’s were winning their second consecutive American League West title. The difference between the two is the A’s have yet to make it out of the divisional round of the playoffs, while the Giants have won two World Series since 2010.

A World Series title could help spark ticket demand in Oakland, but until then, they’ll continue to be one of the most underappreciated teams in baseball.

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